THESE HIDDEN WINGS

[162] SOCIAL DISTANCING

THAT SHOULD DO it.

I placed the brush filled with strands of my thick locks otherwise known as crazy locks, into my wardrobe, staring at it for a second, frowning.

Zali would have had my head if I was back in Barotse.

Never leave hair on the brush, she would say.

I wanted so badly to ignore it, reminding myself that this was Kingsland and not Barotse.

That here I was supposed to be a normal teenage girl and not some over the cultured princess, but I couldn't do it.

After all, it was screwed in my head that wherever I went, whatever I did, I was a representation of Barotse. Despite my repeated failures with my hair, this would not be one of them.

Sighing, I took out the mangled locks from the brush head, tossed them into the bin, putting the clean brush back where it belonged.

I turned around slightly as the cold intruded my body from a stray gust of wind, my eyes landing on the slightly open window.

I could spot the darkness of the night and sparsely populated stars that littered it. The moon, however, was not in my line of sight.

My lips pursed into a thin firm line, trying to fight the need to go to it. 

Looking back into my wardrobe, whilst biting my lip to stop the itch, I stood on the tips of my toes in an attempt to reach the spot where I had hid my prized possession.

My tusk.

Taking it out, I retreated to my bed carefully, knowing the last thing I wanted to do was look out of the window and see the shadow that usually haunted me at this hour.

That dark figure whose blue eyes was definitely stealing souls, after all, a shiver crossed my spine at the memory of the white smoke that traveled up his arms when he threatened the Oldbloods.

Yes, the shadow that I was so used to seeing walking into the woods.

Oh, I still regretted the day I ever decided to follow him into that godforsaken place.

So instead, I bundled up into bed, not even sparing a look at the empty bed across from mine, tucking the tusk beneath my pillow.

There was no use worrying about Daya. Something told me she was up to something, but I had no time to add that to the list of things that currently toiled my mind.

That space was full with only one being.

Shaking myself out of it, I tried to fill my head with everything that had brightened my day, today, and try to keep the thought of shadows, and the blue-eyed boy from my head, burrowing further into my pillow, a hand firmly around my tusk beneath it, for my own protection.

It was in all honestly the only thing I could use against him.

I had to be careful, I had to be safe.

It was clear that Harvest could just teleport anywhere he wanted to. He made that power clear when he followed me back to the Scepters, that night.

He could even be standing in the corner of my room right now-

The thought got me sitting back upright like a sounding board, just to glance around the room again and make sure I was indeed alone.

It took me a second to recollect before burrowing my head back into my pillow, staring at the blank wall.

I shouldn't let him, or even thoughts of him rule my mind.

I had the tusk, and I believe I was getting the hang of using this thing. All I had to do was desire to be safe, somewhere safe, which at this point would definitely be with Gravis.